Brr it’s cold outside and the streets are a mess – luckily I can work from home today as I have a lot of computer work to do getting all the marketing ready for Valentine’s Day - after about four hours of uploading pics and describing flower arrangements I was ready for some sustenance – and realized I had some homemade tortellini in the freezer and some left over sauce!  Then I remembered I had photographed making the tortellini so aren’t you lucky you stopped by the Amusing Florist blog today!

I use a Marcella Hazan recipe published in a Bon Apetit magazine from the early 80s.  Noodles were one of the first things Gramma taught me how to make – I remember at a very young age standing on a chair and grating noodle dough into a pot of boiling water.  Eventually I got to mix dough and roll it out with a rolling pin over newspaper – the cartoon section – had to be able to read the cartoons through the dough – so anyway, this is easy for me – with some practice you can master noodle dough too.

For the pasta:

10 oz pkg frozen leaf spinach, cooked, cooled, drained and squeezed dry and chopped fine

3 to 4 cups unbleached flower (oops, I mean flour – Valentine’s on the brain today)

4 large eggs

1 tbl extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp salt

pulse the spinach with 3-1/2 cups of the flour in your food processor, add eggs, olive oil and salt and pulse until it comes together – poke it with your finger, if it is sticky add more flour a little at a time until it is a cohesive but slightly crumbly mass.

dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for a minute or two until smooth – then shape into two disks, wrap in plastic wrap and let the dough rest for about an hour.

When you are ready to roll it out, you can find all kinds of instructions on the internet for rolling and shaping dough.  I use a crank roller and dream of the day I can buy that pasta roller for my KitchenAid mixer!   My roller has 6 settings and I roll my dough out to #5 “thinness” as I like a little “tooth” to my tortellini and I find that #6 sometimes has blowouts when the tortellini cooks.

While your pasta is resting you can prepare your filling.

1/4 to 1/2 pound (Marcella’s the recipe called for pork butt but I like to use a lean cut)

1/4 to 1/2 pound veal shoulder - I could only find ground at the market and it worked out fine

2 tsp butter

1/2 to 3/4 cup fresh ricotta (ricotta salata from Viviano’s is my choice)

2 tbl mortadella, chopped very fine (Viviano’s)

1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese (again Viviano’s)

1 or 2 egg yolks

Freshly grated nutmeg (to taste, I like lots and lots of nutmeg)

salt and black pepper

Cut the pork and veal into thin slices and then into small dice – keep the meats separate.  Cook the pork in the butter for about 5 minutes, browning all sides, then add the veal and cook for only a minute or two - just until the pink is gone.  Add a bit of salt and pepper, stir to coat well, then drain and cool.

When the meat is cool enough to handle, chop the pork and veal together to a grainy, slightly coarse consistency.  Put the chopped meat into a bowl and add the ricotta, grated cheese, egg yolk and at least 1/4 tsp of freshly grated nutmeg.  Add the finely chopped mortadella.

Mix well, then taste and correct for salt and pepper (and nutmeg).

Time to roll out the dough – this recipe is a double batch, only roll out 1/2 a disk of dough at a time or the pasta gets dry and doesn’t stick to itself to form the little Venus’ navels.  Cut 1-1/2 to 2 inch squares, put about a 1/4 tsp of meat filling in the center, top with one pea (my addition, nothing better than the pop of a pea when you bite into a tender tortellini!)

Shape your tortellini by folding opposite corners together to make a triangle, then flip it and pinch the wide ends together, the point will kinda flip on its own.  Set your tortelli on a cookie sheet, freeze until solid then store in zip lock bags in freezer for up to a couple months.

Now for the sauce – and this is the easiest most delicious tomato cream sauce ever.

1/3 cup butter

1/4 cup each onion, carrot, celery, all chopped very fine.

1 large can imported Italian plum tomatoes with their juice

pinch of salt

1/2 cup heavy (high fat) whipping cream, at room temperature or warmed slightly

Lightly saute celery, onion, carrot & salt in butter until onions are translucent.  Add tomatoes and cook for 45 minutes at a low simmer.

Bring a large pot of water to boil and add frozen tortellini – they will only take 3 to 5 minutes to cook.

When carrots are tenderm puree tomato sauce in blender until smooth (or use one of those handy dandy boat motors!) – return to pot, add heavy cream and warm it back up but do not boil.  It is important to use heavy cream at room temp or even warmed up a bit in the microwave, ALL OTHER MILK PRODUCTS curdle – although it will taste fine it looks ugly.

Top your tortellini with the tomato cream sauce and some freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano and dive in.  You’ll want to eat this with a spoon!

Okay, back to work – check out our Valentine’s Line Up – we have some great flowers and gifts for you!

 

 

 

Wondering what to do with that 4 pound butternut squash you bought a month ago?

Roasted Squash and Escarole with Farfalla & Asiago Cheese

Serves 6 to 8

3  to 4 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into bite-size chunks

1 medium to large red onion, cut into chunks

2 large heads of escarole cut into 1 inch strips

15 to 20 large fresh sage leaves, torn

5 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup pine nuts

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon (or less if you are not a fan of) hot red pepper flakes

1 tightly packed tablespoon brown sugar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup half-and-half

1 pound bow tie cooked and drained pasta,

6 ounces (about 1-1/2 cups) freshly shredded Asiago cheese

Freshly grated nutmeg.

Preheat oven and 2 large sheet pans to 450°

In a really, really big bowl, toss together all the ingredients except half-and-half, pasta and cheese.

Generously salt and pepper, then pour out onto the  pre-heated pans.

It will look like a lot but the escarole will shrink a lot

Bake 25 minutes, turning a couple time until squash is tender.

Be careful not to burn the escarole – it will get crispy.

Once the squash is tender, flip on the broiler for about 5 minutes to caramelize the squash.

You want crusty brown edges on the squash and wilted, crisp escarole.

Scrape into a serving bowl,  add the half-and-half, hot pasta, and 1 cup of cheese.

Toss to blend, tasting for salt and pepper, and enough cheese.  Grate some fresh nutmeg in to taste.

Adjust seasonings to your liking and may I suggest serving with a nice glass of red wine  and more grated Asiago cheese.

I especially like the Cougar Run Merlot from my cousin’s vineyard

Carlson Vineyards in Colorado

Note: You could peel the squash a day ahead and store it, tightly covered, in the refrigerator.  I found the best way to peel the squash is to cut it in half lengthwise, then slice into one inch pieces, peel with a sharp knife and then cut into chunks. Heating the pan ahead cuts cooking time and the cold veggies make such a nice sizzle.  I also am a big fan of the non stick aluminum foil for easy cleanup!

This would make for a very nice Valentine’s Day dinner!  Just add flowers from Walter Knoll Florist!

Or better yet, schedule Elvis to deliver your flowers!

Our Valentine’s selection this year is amazing and I am adding product daily so visit soon!

A valentines day special – Walter Knoll Florist